All the dish: Once trucks and trannies idled on this block. Now dinner's served, and the joints are jumping

It used to be an evening trip to Gansevoort Street in the Meatpacking District was like stepping onto the dark side of the moon. Dense with workers and delivery trucks during the day, at night the neighborhood became a kind of no-man's-land. For years, the one point of light in all this "atmosphere" was Florent, a restaurant-cum-diner opened by Florent Morellet nearly two decades ago, and a place that with its simple, homey cooking and wry, everyone's-welcome-here attitude defined the frontier spirit of the neighborhood. Little has changed inside the restaurant--but outside it's a different world entirely. Far from its original land-that-time-forgot quality, the Gansevoort Street of today-full to bursting with new spots to eat, drink and make merry-has become Downtown's answer to Restaurant Row. Here's a look at three of the block's latest additions.

It says a lot about Meet that in the fact sheet sent out as part of the restaurant's promotional package feng shui credits are listed between those of architect and graphic designer. Indeed, with its illuminated bar, coconut wood walkway and mirrored walls, Meet is immediately a place you want to know better. All those good vibrations begin to break down, however, when you're shown to your table and discover that not only is there minimal space between you and the diners at either side, but outdoor voices are a must, thanks in part to the sounds emanating from the DJ booth wedged into a corner of the room. Still, harmony is by and large the order of the evening in executive chef Ten Vong's kitchen, one where mostly Mediterranean-inspired dishes are simply prepared and given the occasional Asian once-over. On recent visits the seasonal menu offered a fine cured tuna sprinkled with sesame seeds, a transcendent roast chicken flecked with golden raisins, and (in keeping with the restaurant's name and the neighborhood) plenty of the chest-beating stuff, from grilled ribeye to roast lamb sirloin. Unfortunately, the ice cream sandwiches have been removed from the dessert menu, but the cheesecake seemed to get lighter and lemonier on each successive visit. My advice? Come early (in Gansevoort Street speak, that's before 9 P.M.) and take advantage of the restaurant's positive energy flow before Meet morphs into its after-dinner identity: nightclub.

MEET 71-73 Gansevoort St.; 212-242-0990

In his third attempt to strike restaurant gold with this corner location, owner and chef Alain Bennouna has abandoned the brasserie/bistro formula dominating most establishments in the neighborhood, boldly going where no other restaurant in the vicinity has gone before--Morocco. It was a smart move, one that seems to have finally worked magic for a space that had begun to seem doomed. Refitting the room with Moroccan lanterns, saffron-colored tablecloths and burgundy banquettes, the restaurant has done a serviceable (if budget-conscious) job of conveying Zitoune's North African sensibility. Add the appropriate music (plus belly dancers on weekends after midnight) and a cold bottle of Casablanca beer, and you're halfway there. The kitchen takes care of the rest. As you might expect, Zitoune offers all the Moroccan standards, from chicken with couscous to lamb tagine, as well as some less familiar ones-such as crispy nuggets of codfish or roasted quail stuffed with rice-- all excellent and immaculately prepared, and all served (be warned) at the languid pace one associates with warm climates. Desserts present a variety of can't-miss options, from the relatively simple apple and raisin tart to the more adventurous coconut and pepper creme brulee. Only the seductive-sounding cinnamon doughnut--a dry and crumbly confection--disappointed. But then, who travels all the way to Morocco for a doughnut?

ZITOUNE 46 Gansevoort St.; 212-675-5224

MACELLERIA

48 Gansevoort St.; 212-741-2555

Perhaps sensing that the popular, outsized presence of Pastis a block away spelled a lock on anything French, the owners of Macelleria wisely went in search of some point of difference for their restaurant. Where they landed was Italy, a logical choice given that the operation is co-owned by Sergio Bitici (with his daughter, Violetta), an Italian by birth and the former force behind such well-known red sauce establishments as Grand Ticino and Minetta Tavern. With its mix of the industrial (poured concrete floors) and the reclaimed (a wooden freezer serves as a wine locker), the restaurant is at once reminiscent of the sort of simple, elegant places you might stumble upon in any Italian city, as well as in keeping with the Meatpacking District's more modern, stripped-down aesthetic. Macelleria is at heart a steakhouse and, between its porterhouse and its sirloin, the kitchen does not disappoint. Add a variety of homemade pastas (tagliolini with peas and prosciutto is a standout), French fries to give even that neighboring brasserie behemoth a run for its money, a variety of non red-meat options--from sauteed trout to eggplant with mozzarella--and crowd-pleasing desserts such as apple strudel and you have the sort of populist combination that, in a perfect world at least, spells success.